Shares in Marshalls are falling as the paving company sees profits fall
- Paving slab specialists’ turnover fell 7% to £671.2m in 2023 from the previous year
- Adjusted pre-tax profits fell 41% to £53.3 million
- Marshalls also cut its final dividend to 5.7p, a drop of 42 percent
Shares in Marshalls fell after the building materials supplier cut its 2024 forecast as profits and sales for the year fell.
The paving stone specialist’s 2023 turnover fell 7 per cent on the year to £671.2 million, the company reported, while adjusted pre-tax profits fell 41 per cent to £53.3 million.
After the trading update Marshalls Stock fell 8.47 percent to 266p in afternoon trading on Monday.
The paving stone specialist’s turnover fell 7% to £671.2m in 2023, while adjusted pre-tax profits fell 41% to £53.3m
In a statement, the company said that “sales in the first two months of the year were lower than in 2023 and reflect continued weakness in the second half of last year.”
As a result, the group says sales in 2024 will be lower than previously expected and profits will now be at similar levels to 2023.
Marshalls also cut its final dividend to 5.7p, a drop of 42 percent. This meant that the dividend for the whole of 2023 fell by 47 percent from 15.6p to 8.3p per share.
Matt Pullen, CEO of Marshalls, said: ‘In 2023, the company was necessarily focused on managing and improving the efficiency and agility of its cost base, leveraging its strength in operations, as well as rigorous and strong cash flow management.
‘In the near term, markets are expected to remain challenging with continued weakness in the first half of the year followed by a gradual recovery in the second half as the macroeconomic environment improves.
“However, this recovery is expected to be slower and more modest than previously expected.”
In August, Marshalls cut around 250 jobs in the first half of the year as profits were hit by a slowdown in the property market.
The company’s adjusted pre-tax profit fell 26 percent to £33.2 million year-on-year for the six months to June 30.
The company said at the time that job cuts were necessary after “challenging” market conditions “led to material volume reductions across all three of our reporting segments.”
Marshalls, which has benefited from homeowners modernizing their gardens and driveways during the pandemic, said demand had fallen ‘significantly’ for several months in 2022.
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